Posts Tagged ‘Berlin Film Festival’

Nagraj Manjule’s “Sairat” Selected For Berlin Film Festival

Posted: December 19, 2015 by moifightclub in cinema, Film Festival, Indie, News
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Sairat

Nagraj Manjule stormed into the Marathi film scene with his terrific debut, Fandry. And we, at mFC, have been shouting out about it since we saw it first (here, here and more).

Now, he is ready with his next film, Sairat. And here’s the good news – the film has been selected for Berlin Film Festival where it will have its International Premiere. It will be screened in Generation 14plus section – movies made for teenagers.

Here’s more info on the film, according to fest official release –

The love that binds clever Parshya and beautiful and self-confident Archie is as passionate as it is socially taboo. Breaking away from the narrow-mindedness and violence of convention is the only way out for the young couple. With powerful imagery and epic scope, Nagraj Manjule tells the story of an impossible love.

And here are two teasers for the film:

Panel Discussion : India@Berlinale

Posted: April 24, 2014 by moifightclub in cinema, Event, Film Festival
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Killa

WHAT : A discussion with Indian filmmakers whose films were selected for the Berlin Film Festival 2014. The conversation will include short clips from the selected films, and will be moderated by the Berlin Film Festival’s India Consultant Meenakshi Shedde.

WHEN : Friday, April 25, 6.30 pm

WHERE : Galerie Max Mueller, Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan, K Dubash Marg, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai 400001.​​ Tel.: +91 22 2202 7542​

​​PANEL : The participants include directors Avinash Arun, Pushpendra Singh and Kush Badhwar; producers Alan McAlex and Sanjay Shah. Directors Jessica Sadana and Samarth Dixit, as well as Rajeev Masand, Entertainment Editor and Film Critic, CNN-IBN, will participate via video clips.

– Killa (The Fort) directed by Avinash Arun, Generation section: Winner, Crystal Bear for Best Film, Generation K-plus section for children. Debut feature. A superb coming-of-age story of young Chinu, whose mother keeps getting transferred, and making peace with the past.

– Alan McAlex of Jar Pictures (with co-founder Ajay G. Rai), has produced/co-produced Killa, Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur 1 and 2, which were at Cannes, and Liar’s Dice, which was at Sundance.

– Lajwanti (The Honour Keeper) directed by Pushpendra Singh (Forum section): Debut feature. A poetic, avant garde Rajasthani love story, between a village woman in a veil and a man obsessed with pigeons.

– Blood Earth directed by Kush Badhwar (Forum Expanded section): The film explores the political resistance of the adivasis in Odisha against a mining venture, through the perspective of their songs, music, noise and silence. Badhwar belongs to the collective Word Sound Power.

– Sanjay Shah: Creative Producer, participated in the Berlinale Talent Campus. His films include Miss Lovely, which was at Cannes. Former Supervising Producer at NFDC, he organized the Co-Production Market at its Film Bazaar last year.

– Jessica Sadana and Samarth Dixit, co-directors of Prabhat Pheri (Journey of Prabhat), Forum section. Debut feature. A fascinating documentary-myth of the FTII campus, previously owned by the Prabhat Film Company Studio, replete with stories of a director reborn as a snake.

– Rajeev Masand, Entertainment Editor and Film Critic, CNN-IBN: he has extensively covered the Berlinale.

– Meenakshi Shedde, India Consultant to the Berlin Film Festival: An independent film festival consultant and film curator, she has curated for festivals worldwide, including Locarno, Toronto (TIFF Bell Lightbox) and Busan. She won the National Award for Best Film Critic.

TOPIC : The Berlin Film Festival, also known as Berlinale, is considered one of the top international film festivals in theworld today. It has also selected far more Indian films than any other A-list festival over the years—includingfeatures, documentaries, short and experimental films. This year was exceptional, as the Berlinale selected a record 12 Indian films, including international films by directors of Indian origin. This reflects the exciting vitality of Indian cinema today, as well as its young talent: three directors, who were selected by Berlin for their first feature films, are still in their 20s. The Marathi film Killa won the Crystal Bear! What was it like, being at the Berlin Film Festival? How did the audience respond? Could this mean an international career? These are some of the questions that will be discussed.

First Look: Documentary Amma and Appa (Trailer, Poster & Synopsis)

Posted: March 11, 2014 by moifightclub in cinema, Documentary, film, first look, Poster, Preview, Story / Plot / Synopsis, Trailer, World Cinema
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As we have said before, it’s a great time for desi documentaries. And while this one is not an Indian production, it does have a desi connection. Amma & Appa is a personal documentary about the cross-cultural marriage of director Franziska Schoenenberger and her fiancé and co-director Jayakrishnan Subramaniam. It was warmly received when it showed recently at the Berlin Film Fest in the Perspektive Deutsches Kino section. Check out the trailer and synopsis below:

Franziska comes from Bavaria and is in love with Jayakrishnan from southern India. When the couple decide that their love should lead to marriage and a life in Germany, both sets of in-laws find that cultural customs they took for granted are now suddenly subjected to scrutiny.

Whilst Franziska’s parents chose to marry of their own free will, the marriage of Jayakrishnan’s parents was arranged within their own caste, as is customary in Caddalore in southern India. As far as they are concerned, their son’s intention not only to marry a foreigner but to marry for love represents a cruel act of revenge on the part of the gods, since the match calls into question their whole traditional way of life.

Hoping to overcome cultural barriers, the parents of the Bavarian bride-to-be decide to travel to India to visit their future son-in-law’s parents. Interspersed with delicate animation sequences, Amma & Appa is a personal documentary which tells the story of one intercultural union — and in doing so humorously explores the familiar in the unfamiliar, and the unfamiliar in the familiar.

For more info on the film, check out the FB page or the website.

First Look : Rajan Khosa’s Gattu (Trailer & official synopsis)

Posted: February 9, 2012 by moifightclub in cast & crew, cinema, Film Festival, first look, News, songs & videos, Trailer, video
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India doesn’t have anything to boast about at the ongoing Berlin Film Festival. Like any other cinema snob, if you don’t count Don2, Rajan Khosa’s Gattu is the only film in the official selection of Berlin. The film will be screened in the Generation section of the festival.

Since 1978, the Berlinale has devoted a section to children and young people: Generation. In two competitions, Generation Kplus and Generation 14plus, discoveries from state of the art world-cinema and on a par with young people are presented and the most outstanding of these are awarded the Crystal Bears. (from official release)

Gattu is produced by CFSI and the cast includes Mohammad Samad, Naresh Kumar and Bhura.

And here’s the official synopsis….

‘Truth with triumph in the end’ is the motto of the local school in the part of town where Gattu lives. But Gattu is too poor to go to school and he’s not always that truthful either. Gattu lives and works very hard at a scrap yard belonging to a man he simply calls ‘uncle’. Uncle bought him years ago from his sick father. Gattu is particularly inventive when it comes to thinking up excuses so he can slip away and indulge his passion for kite-flying. Day after day the children love to compete against each other with their kites. They’ve given the name Kali to one mysterious black kite that dominates the sky; strangely, nobody seems to know who owns it. If Gattu wants to win the next competition he’ll have to climb to the highest place in town. This is the school roof, of all places. Gattu manages to creep inside where he assumes command of a small but determined group of pupils. A dramatic battle of the skies ensues during which Gattu uses every trick in the book to claim the lead. But his greatest achievement is when, encouraged by his friendship with his new-found comrades, he decides to tell the truth.

Aamir Khan is on the jury of Berlin Film Festival & we have a small request

Posted: January 22, 2011 by moifightclub in bollywood, cinema, Film Festival, News
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And that’s what you call a perfect timing! Dhobi Ghat, pitched as a first art house film from Aamir Khan Productions, released on Friday, and now the announcement that Aamir Khan will be one the jury of Berlin International Film festival 2011. It’s among the top five International film festivals worldwide and to be on the jury is quite an honour.

The seven-member jury will be headed by Italian-American actress Isabella Rossellini and the festival will run from 10th to 20th February, 2011. The other jury members include Australian film producer Jan Chapman, German actress Nina Hoss, Canadian film-maker Guy Maddin, British costume designer Sandy Powell and Iranian director Jafar Panahi.  But Panahi’s place on the jury will be left symbolically empty.

The competition section includes 22 films, 16 of which will be competing for the awards. In addition there will be two special screenings: In solidarity with the convicted Iranian director Jafar Panahi, his film Offside will be presented on February 11, the anniversary of the Iranian Revolution. Also, the European premiere of Werner Herzog’s 3D documentary Cave of Forgotten Dreams will be shown as a special screening in the Berlinale Palast.

The international jury will decide the following prizes –

– The Golden Bear for the Best Film (awarded to the film’s producer)

– The Jury Grand Prix (Silver Bear)

– The Award for Best Director (Silver Bear)

– The Award for Best Actress (Silver Bear)

– The Award for Best Actor (Silver Bear)

– The Award for Best Script (Silver Bear)

– The Award for an Outstanding Artistic Achievement in the categories camera, editing, score, costumes or set design (Silver Bear)

– The Alfred Bauer Prize – in memory of the festival founder – for a feature film that broadens the horizons of the art of filmmaking.

Berlin Fest will also have three films from India in Panorama section. To quote from the official release…

On a grand scale Vishal Bhardwaj tells of an intimidating female character who moves between the religions and their male proponents in 7 Khoon Maaf (7 Sins Forgiven), while young director Q has angry young men set out – unfiltered and raw – to find a place for themselves in the world in his film debut Gandu (Asshole): “Words are burning inside us. Rap is a way to say them.” British filmmaker Phil Cox lets viewers experience the city of Calcutta up close in The Bengali Detective: it takes you to the darkest corners of the metropolis with private detectives whose businesses are booming because the police can no longer be trusted.

Filmmaker Prashant Bhargava’s feature Patang (The Kite) has also been selected to be screened as part of the 41st Forum in this year’s Festival.

And Dear Aamir,

If you still haven’t been able to understand Memento, we are more than willing to offer our services. Do let us know. And we also hope that you don’t talk about Ghajini there. Be careful. Or you might end up getting caught, like it happened with Bipasha Basu recently.

Team FC

Karan Johar’s My Name Is Khan selected for Berlin Film Festival

Posted: December 16, 2009 by moifightclub in Bolly Jokes, cinema, Film Festival, News
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And on that note will start the promotional campaign of Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol starrer new film My Name Is Khan, whose theatrical trailer will be out this week with Avtaar. The first look of the film will be unveiled on Star Network on 16th December at 10pm. After Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om, which was part of Berlinale Special, Karan Johar’s My Name Is Khan has been selected for the 60th Berlin Film Festival. The film will be screened in the “Out of competition” section. 

Among the other Indian films are Umesh Kulkarni’s Vihir (The Well), produced by Amitabh Bachchan’s AB Corp, and Laxmikant Shetgaonkar’s Paltadacho Munis (Man Beyond the Bridge). 

The festival will take place between February 11-21 2010 and will also have the world premiere of Martin Scorsese’s The Shutter Island and Roman Polanski’s The Ghost Writer.